MIT Technology Review - MIThttp://www.technologyreview.com/tagged/mit-0/
enCuba’s Internet Revolution Faces Economic and Political Realitieshttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/533701/cubas-internet-revolution-faces-economic-and-political-realities/
<p>The new White House approach could help Cubans gain access to the Internet—but the question is whether the regime will play ball.</p><p>Cubans could be about to enjoy vastly improved access to communications technology under proposed <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/fact-sheet-charting-new-course-cuba" target="0">normalization of relations</a> with the United States, which will permit companies to import telecom infrastructure and expertise. But economic and political obstacles still need to be overcome for cheap, open Internet access to become a reality.</p>Sun, 21 Dec 2014 05:00:00 +0000Kyanna.Sutton533701 at http://www.technologyreview.comA Sleek Wristband That Can Track Seizureshttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/532811/a-sleek-wristband-that-can-track-seizures/
<p>A startup wants to make it easier for people with epilepsy to detect seizures and let others know when they need help.</p><p>A new wristband from a startup called <a href="http://www.empatica.com" target="0">Empatica</a> is built for people with epilepsy—it hopes to detect their seizures and alert family when they’re in the throes of one—but it could also appeal to people who simply want a sleek-looking gadget for logging activities and stress.</p>Fri, 28 Nov 2014 05:00:00 +0000Kyanna.Sutton532811 at http://www.technologyreview.comWater-Repellent Coating Could Make Power Plants Greenerhttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/532756/water-repellent-coating-could-make-power-plants-greener/
<p>A startup has created a water-repellent coating that could significantly increase power plants’ efficiency.</p><p>Applying a novel coating to part of the machinery in power plants could significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Applying it at just one coal plant would reduce yearly emissions as much as taking 4,000 cars off the road, says <a href="http://meche.mit.edu/people/?id=372" target="0">Kripa Varanasi</a>, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT who helped develop the new coating, which is being commercialized by a startup called <a href="http://www.drop-wise.com/" target="0">DropWise</a>.</p>Mon, 24 Nov 2014 05:00:00 +0000Kyanna.Sutton532756 at http://www.technologyreview.comDoes Watson Know the Answer to IBM’s Woes? http://www.technologyreview.com/news/532161/does-watson-know-the-answer-to-ibms-woes/
<p>IBM is betting that research on more human-like artificial intelligence will help it turn things around.</p><p>As cheap cloud computing services erode IBM’s traditional hardware business with alarming speed, the company finds itself facing an uncertain future. If only there were some clever machine it could turn to for advice.</p>Wed, 05 Nov 2014 17:04:00 +0000juniper.friedman532161 at http://www.technologyreview.comDoes Lockheed Martin Really Have a Breakthrough Fusion Machine?http://www.technologyreview.com/news/531836/does-lockheed-martin-really-have-a-breakthrough-fusion-machine/
<p>Lockheed Martin says it will have a small fusion reactor prototype in five years but offers no data.</p><p>Lockheed Martin’s announcement last week that it had secretly developed a promising design for a compact nuclear fusion reactor has met with excitement but also skepticism over the basic feasibility of its approach.</p>Mon, 20 Oct 2014 17:00:00 +0000juniper.friedman531836 at http://www.technologyreview.comShape-Shifting Carbon Composites Could Save Fuelhttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/531781/shape-shifting-carbon-composites-could-save-fuel/
<p>Airbus is developing carbon materials that change in response to heat and air pressure, possibly making aircraft simpler and lighter.</p><p>Airbus and researchers at MIT are developing shape-shifting materials that could make aircraft simpler and lighter, potentially saving fuel. Made of carbon fiber composites, the materials shift between two or more shapes in response to changes in heat, air pressure, or other environmental factors. They can be integrated into aircraft easily, replacing the need for more complex hydraulic actuators, motors, and hinges. The first application might be in a jet engine’s air intake valve, which needs to adjust as the plane changes altitude.</p>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 16:59:00 +0000Kyanna.Sutton531781 at http://www.technologyreview.comTown Built for Driverless Carshttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/531301/town-built-for-driverless-cars/
<p>Tricky intersections and rogue mechanical pedestrians will provide a testing area for automated and connected cars.</p><p>A mocked-up set of busy streets in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will provide the sternest test yet for self-driving cars. Complex intersections, confusing lane markings, and busy construction crews will be used to gauge the aptitude of the latest automotive sensors and driving algorithms; mechanical pedestrians will even leap into the road from between parked cars so researchers can see if they trip up onboard safety systems.</p>Fri, 03 Oct 2014 14:40:00 +0000juniper.friedman531301 at http://www.technologyreview.comFun with Foodhttp://www.technologyreview.com/photoessay/530936/fun-with-food/
<p>Playful new cooking based on traditional methods and weird ingredients will supplant the industrial techniques that dominate modernist cuisine.</p><p class="dropcap">Ever <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/fromtheeditor/404704/technology-and-hypercuisine/" target="0">since</a> cooks began playing with the equipment of the food industry, chefs have felt compelled to join one of two camps. The first believes any kitchen is incomplete without a centrifuge, combination steam-convection oven, and $6,000 vacuum-seal machine and immersion circulator to cook 22-hour eggs <em>sous vide</em>. <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/review/414835/in-vino-veritas/" target="0">The second camp</a> takes pride in telling you that all these gadgets, and ingredients like hydrocolloids and calcium baths, are outlawed in <em>their </em> kitchens—because gadgets and industrial powders have nothing to do with cooking. But now that the equipment, ideas, and techniques of <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/review/424410/better-cooking-through-technology/" target="0">modernist cuisine</a> have been around more than a decade, a new generation of chefs declines to declare loyalty to either camp. To me, the most interesting cooks today are not on the barricades but those eager to discover new flavors. They use low-tech means like fermentation and cook over a stove.</p>Fri, 03 Oct 2014 04:00:00 +0000Kyanna.Sutton530936 at http://www.technologyreview.comGoogle Glass Can Now Track Your Stress Levelhttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/530521/google-glass-can-now-track-your-stress-level/
<p>A new way to track heart and breathing data, demonstrated with Google Glass, could heighten interest in wearable sensors.</p><p>Besides projecting directions and e-mails in front of your face, Google Glass can also measure biological signs like heart and breathing rates, according to new research. The work suggests a new way for wearable devices to track a person’s stress level and provide instant fitness feedback.</p>Fri, 05 Sep 2014 14:26:00 +0000juniper.friedman530521 at http://www.technologyreview.comProceed with Cautionhttp://www.technologyreview.com/view/530156/proceed-with-caution/
<p>A promising technique for synthetic biology is fraught with risks.</p><p>Genes in sexually reproducing organisms typically have a 50 percent chance of being inherited. Some genes have naturally evolved methods of improving these odds; these are called “gene drives.” The genomes of almost every sexually reproducing species contain either active gene drives or remnants of drives. Ten years ago, Austin Burt of Imperial College London proposed designing drives to alter genes in natural populations of mosquitoes. But the difficulty of precisely editing genomes to create engineered drives stymied the realization of Burt’s vision. This is about to change.</p>Tue, 19 Aug 2014 04:05:01 +0000juniper.friedman530156 at http://www.technologyreview.com